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Clearlake and Motive-backed software platform BETANXT expands capabilities, growth opportunities with acquisition of Mediant Communications

Clearlake

Transaction builds on firm’s end-to-end wealth solutions software platform, adds investor communications and proxy solutions

 

New York, NY – March 1, 2023 – BetaNXT, a provider of wealth management infrastructure software with real-time data capabilities and an enhanced advisor experience, today announced that certain affiliates of BetaNXT have acquired Mediant Communications (“Mediant”), a provider of investor communications technology and technology-enabled solutions to banks, brokers, corporations, funds, and investment managers. The acquisition augments BetaNXT’s suite of wealth management solutions, expanding BetaNXT into investor communications through Mediant’s digital-forward communications capabilities, industry experience and reliability.

 

“Adding Mediant to the BetaNXT platform enhances our ability to be a trusted partner for companies looking to integrate communications into their wealth management platforms. We are now able to offer an additional functionality that will benefit our clients and allow their operations to be more connected,” said Stephen C. Daffron, BetaNXT Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

 

Backed by Clearlake Capital and Motive Partners, BetaNXT brings together proven wealth management solutions – Beta, Maxit, and now Mediant – into a single, integrated platform. The BetaNXT approach to improving the advisor experience combines intelligent, user-centric technology with notable industry perspective, and a robust partner network. With an operating history of over 40 years, the firm supports more than 50 million retail accounts, has more than $6 trillion of assets on the platform, and processes more than 35 million securities-related transactions daily.

 

“BetaNXT’s culture, vision, and client base made the combination an intriguing opportunity for Mediant’s next phase of growth. We look forward to working alongside the BetaNXT team to grow our combined company together and better serve our clients,” stated Arthur Rosenzweig, Mediant Communications CEO.

 

BetaNXT will incorporate Mediant’s technology to digitize and incorporate the investor communications process into its broader suite of software solutions, which includes real-time data capabilities, cost basis and tax reporting solutions, and front, middle and back-office applications. The integration will result in a more complete, holistic solution for wealth management firms, allowing for additional cost savings and a more streamlined communications process that will benefit investors.

 

“We are focused on providing critical data connections for our clients, with visibility into the source and destination of all data that flows through our wealth solutions,” said Tim Rutka,

President of Beta by BetaNXT.  “Incorporating Mediant’s capabilities will provide tremendous value to our mutual client networks.”

 

BetaNXT was advised by Sidley Austin LLP. Mediant was advised by Ardea Partners LP and Morgan, Lewis & Bocklus LLP.

 

 

About BetaNXT

BetaNXT powers the future of connected wealth management infrastructure software, leveraging real-time data capabilities to enhance the wealth advisor experience. Combining industry expertise with the power of our proven Beta, Maxit, and Mediant businesses, we are focused on solving our customers most demanding integration challenges with flexible, efficient, connected solutions that anticipate their changing needs. Our comprehensive approach reduces enterprise cost, streamlines operations processes, increases advisor productivity, and enhances the investor experience. Together with BetaNXT, wealth management firms are transforming their platforms into differentiating assets that enable enterprise scale and stimulate commercial growth. For more information visit www.betanxt.com.

 

About Mediant Communications

Mediant, an Argentum Portfolio Company, delivers investor communications solutions to banks, brokers, corporate issuers, and funds. Our solutions are driven by leading technology and strict compliance with industry regulations, which allows clients to balance innovation with requirements. We enable banks and brokers to effectively manage all potential touchpoints within the investor communications lifecycle—from proxy statements and prospectuses to voluntary corporate actions. We provide corporate issuers with turnkey proxy processing, and we empower mutual funds, REITs and insurance companies with a full-service, end-to-end proxy solution.

 

 

About Clearlake

Clearlake Capital Group, L.P. is an investment firm founded in 2006 operating integrated businesses across private equity, credit, and other related strategies. With a sector-focused approach, the firm seeks to partner with management teams by providing patient, long-term capital to businesses that can benefit from Clearlake’s operational improvement approach, O.P.S.®. The firm’s core target sectors are technology, industrials, and consumer. Clearlake currently has over $70 billion of assets under management, and its senior investment principals have led or co-led over 400 investments. The firm is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA with affiliates in Dallas, TX, London, UK and Dublin, Ireland. More information is available at www.clearlake.com and on Twitter @Clearlake.

 

About Motive

Motive Partners is a specialist private equity firm with offices in New York City and London, focusing on growth equity and buyout investments in technology-enabled financial and business services companies based in North America and Europe and serving five primary subsectors: Banking & Payments, Capital Markets, Data & Analytics, Investment Management and Insurance. Motive Partners brings differentiated expertise, connectivity, and capabilities to create long-term value in financial technology companies through its integrated I-O-I approach, combining Investors, Operators and Innovators as it seeks to create value within the portfolio. More information on Motive Partners can be found at www.motivepartners.com.

 

 

U.S. Media Relations

For news media only, contact:

For BetaNXT

 

Laura Barger                                                                         Justin Meise                                     

BetaNXT                                                                                 Buttonwood Communications Group

+1 646-706-5802                                                                    +1-914-319-0339

laura.barger@betanxt.com                                                     jmeise@buttonwoodpr.com

 

 

For Mediant

 

Robin Brown                                                                      Dana Taormina Cleary

Mediant                                                                                   JConnelly

+1-917-697-2122                                                                    +1-973-647-4626

rbrown@mediant.com                                                            dtaormina@jconnelly.com

 

 

For Clearlake

 

Jennifer Hurson

Clearlake Capital Group Media Contact – Lambert

+1 845-507-0571

jhurson@lambert.com

 

 

For Motive Partners

 

Sam Tidswell-Norrish

Motive Partners

+44 7855 910178

sam@motivepartners.com

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amasol eyes further growth with FIELDS Group

Fields Group

Munich, 01st March 2023 – FIELDS Group is pleased to announce the acquisition of a majority interest in the amasol Group (“amasol”), as per 28th February 2023. amasol is a leading IT Managed Service Provider in the DACH region specializing in Observability and Service Level Management of mission-critical IT infrastructure. The aim of the partnership is to further accelerate the already initiated internationalization and to grow amasol into a leading provider in Europe.

“We are delighted to have found a partner in FIELDS Group that shares our vision of modern IT management,” says Frank Jahn, Managing Director (CSO) at amasol. “With FIELDS, we now want to take what we have achieved so far to a new level by e.g. further internationalizing our business in order to serve our existing and new customers even better.”

“Together with FIELDS, we have prioritized three goals,” said Stefan Deml, Managing Director (CTO) of amasol. “First, we will continue to expand customized services together with our proven software partners. Observability as a managed service – both on premise and in the cloud. In addition, we will accelerate the successful marketing of “Service Level Management, made by amasol” – our proprietary development. Thirdly, we want to meet the internationalization of our customers even better in the future in organizational terms,” explains Stefan Deml.

“From the beginning of the discussions, we were intrigued by amasol’s achievements to date and reputation,” says Rutger Alberink, Partner at FIELDS. “We look forward to supporting the staff and management team in growing amasol into the leading Managed Service Provider for Observability in Europe.”

André Reitz, Investment Manager at FIELDS, adds: “We are particularly looking forward to realizing even greater added value for customers together with the existing management in the future while at the same time creating an attractive environment and growth opportunities for new talents.”

About amasol

amasol GmbH with offices in Munich, Vienna & Delhi was founded in 1999 and is specialized in Observability, Application Performance Monitoring, Artificial Intelligent Operations (AIOps) und Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management. The company has 80 employees and services middle & large companies in amongst others the automotive, finance, insurance, healthcare and telecom industries – half of the DAX companies and well-known IT service providers are among their customers. The company has built up strategic partnerships with companies like Broadcom, Dynatrace, LogicMonitor, Riverbed and Splunk.

www.amasol.de

About FIELDS Group

FIELDS Group is an entrepreneurial hands-on investor focused on developing companies with potential. FIELDS Group invests in companies with headquarters in Benelux and the DACH region and realizes true transformations with its team.

www.fields.nl

Contact for press:

Rutger Alberink, FIELDS Group: +31 6 11490914, r.alberink@fields.nl

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Responda Group acquires Personlig Svarsservice AB and strengthens its customer service offering

IK Partners

Responda Group, a leading Swedish supplier of customer service, announced today that they have signed an agreement to acquire Personlig svarsservice AB and are thus further strengthening its offering towards the small to medium-sized enterprise segment. The acquisition is part of Responda Group’s strategy to expand its offering and further strengthen its capacity as the leading provider of outsourced customer service.
– “We are very pleased to welcome Personlig svarsservice as part of Responda Group. This acquisition is a part of our growth journey, as it will further strengthen our customer service offerings to small and medium sized clients” says Joakim Ögren, CEO Responda Group.
– “We are very happy that Personlig svarsservice is becoming part of Responda Group. They share our commitment and focus on providing excellent customer service. As a part of Responda Group, the business will be able to grow further to reach new levels” says Richard Ahnell and Niklas Berg owners and founders of Personlig svarsservice AB.

About Responda Group

Responda Group is a leading Swedish customer service provider. Our 250 employees handle more than 20 000 customer contacts daily – for more than 2,500 clients. Our passion is to provide value-added customer experiences and strengthen relations through innovative, effective, and qualitative customer service. Responda Group was founded in 1992 and has a yearly turnover of about 120 MSEK with good profitability. The company has operations in Stockholm, Eskilstuna, Kalix and Haparanda. For more information, visit www.respondagroup.se

About Personlig svarsservice AB

Personlig svarsservice offers increased availability for businesses with telephone services, webchat and appointment booking services. Our ambition is to always be at the forefront in customer service solutions and professional interactions for our clients. By increasing the availability of telephone and web services, we increase their level of customer service and the profitability of their operations. The business segment answering services were launched in 2004 and was at that point a part of the sister company GCM. In 2013 Personlig svarsservice was founded as an individual company. The company is today located in Stockholm (Bromma/Mariehäll). For more information visit www.personligsvarsservice.se

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Ufenau Capital Partners promotes Adrian Hess to Partner

Ufenau

Dear Investors, Pfaeffikon SZ, February 2023

Partners and Friends of Ufenau Capital Partners,
Ufenau Capital Partners is delighted to announce the promotion of Adrian Hess to Partner.
Adrian joined Ufenau Capital Partners in 2012. Over the last 11 years, he has been involved in close to 50 transactions. He has gained broad experience in IT / tech-enabled Services as well as Business Services and currently serves on the Board of Directors of collana IT, The Relevance Group and Doktorhuus.

Ralf Flore, Managing Partner of Ufenau, comments: “Adrian has been a valuable member of our team. Throughout his tenure at the firm, he has consistently demonstrated an exceptional performance. Adrian has a strong history of delivering results and has been instrumental in driving the company’s growth and success. His dedication to Ufenau and portfolio companies has not gone unnoticed, and this promotion is a well-deserved recognition of his hard work and achievements.”
The entire Ufenau team wishes Adrian all the best and is looking forward to working closely with him in his new role.
About Ufenau Capital Partners

Ufenau Capital Partners is a privately-owned Swiss Investor Group headquartered at Lake Zurich which advises private and institutional investors with their investments in private equity. Ufenau Capital Partners is focused on investments in service companies in German-speaking Europe, Iberia and the Benelux region and invests in Education & Lifestyle, Business Services, Healthcare, IT Services and Financial Services sectors. Since 2011, Ufenau invested in 280 service companies in Europe. Through a renowned group of experienced Industry Partners (owners, CEOs, CFOs), Ufenau has an active value-adding investment approach at eye-level with entrepreneurs and managers. Ufenau raised its seventh flagship fund and its third Continuation Vehicle last year with a volume of EUR 1.6bn and advises capital of EUR 2.5bn.
Ufenau Capital Partners promotes Adrian Hess to Partner

Ufenau Capital Partners AG
Huobstrasse 3
CH 8808 Pfäffikon, Schwyz
www.
ucp .ch
Tel: + 41 44 482 66 66
Fax: + 41 44 482 66 63
info@ucp.

Categories: People

Bridgepoint takes majority stake in Equativ

Bridgepoint

Bridgepoint has acquired a majority stake in Equativ, the leading independent ad platform, who it will support in developing the only independent advertising alternative to GAFAM, supporting the Open Web.

Following record growth in 2022, Equativ reached net recurring revenues of $100 million, achieving year-on-year organic growth of 30% and tripling its revenues over the past three years. This partnership with Bridgepoint will accelerate Equativ’s mission: to help publishers and advertisers thrive in an open, independent Web and compete with the dominant – but increasingly vulnerable – walled gardens.

Equativ will benefit from Bridgepoint’s expertise in fast-growing tech companies and extended financial capabilities to amplify its growth across core markets (particularly the United States, which already represents 40% of revenues). Thus, Equativ will keep building its expanding tech stack and strongly accelerate both its organic and external growth strategies. The goal is to create one of the top three Supply Side Platforms (SSP) worldwide.

Founded initially as Smart AdServer, the company expanded as an SSP and continued to grow its vertically-integrated solutions with the acquisitions of LiquidM and DynAdmic, as well as investment in Nowtilus – all leading up to the rebrand of the company as Equativ in 2022. The company is now a global and complete adserver, SSP, and media buying solutions providing a simpler, more transparent, and more efficient advertising journey. Equativ fulfills the promise of advertising technology by harmonizing market interests to benefit industry professionals while respecting consumers.

In 2023, Equativ will continue to innovate, streamlining digital media processes and powering advancements that bolster addressable advertising’s impact. Key among the company’s priorities are maintaining and reinforcing the company’s growth in the CTV and video market – which will reach more than $40 billion in revenues in the US in 2025* – as well as enabling greater data activation in the retail media space.

Arnaud Créput, CEO and Founder of Equativ comments: “After three consecutive years of strong growth, our partnership with Bridgepoint is a key milestone in Equativ’s history as the digital advertising industry continues to rapidly transform. Our vertically integrated platform is now uniquely positioned to offer publishers and advertisers around the world the ability to execute advertising transactions directly and efficiently, without intermediaries, in a brand-safe and transparent environment. This new chapter with Bridgepoint validates our strategy and positioning and will help to provide additional resources to accelerate our investments and achieve our ambitions.”

Olivier Nemsguern, Head of Bridgepoint Development Capital France comments: “Even amid global economic instability, Equativ’s consistent success demonstrates the considerable and accelerating need for independent technology. We have been especially impressed by its emphasis on fuelling mutual gains for all sides of ad trading and providing greater flexibility, which are becoming crucial market priorities as advertisers, agencies and publishers look to optimize returns and revenues. In that perspective, we look forward to working with the Management as we are convinced that we can bring a lot to Equativ through our international platform, our expertise in buy-and-build and our understanding of the adtech universe. Offering an alternative route to efficient advertising outside of walled gardens, Equativ is aligned with what global markets want and need in this fast-paced industry.”

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Investcorp Raises Over $1.2 Billion for Inaugural North America Private Equity Fund

Investcorp

Investcorp, a leading global alternative investment firm, today announced the final closing of Investcorp North American Private Equity Fund I, L.P. (“Fund I” or “the Fund”), which focuses on control buy-out investments in middle market services businesses in North America. Fund I closed at over $1.2 billion in capital commitments from blue-chip institutional investors, including pension plans, family offices, private wealth funds and an insurance company across North America, Europe and the Gulf region.

Fund I currently has a strong portfolio of seven investments in companies across the strategy’s core business services verticals, which align with the team’s deep domain knowledge and expertise. The investment strategy is focused on family- and founder-owned business across six subsectors including: tech-enabled, knowledge & professional, data & information, supply chain, industry and specialty consumer services. Investcorp targets companies that demonstrate resilience while also being well-positioned for market growth through multiple value creation levers.

“We have a long and established history of investing in North America mid-market services companies, and we look forward to continuing to broaden and deepen our institutional investor base as this strategy continues to scale,” said Mohammed Alardhi, Executive Chairman, Investcorp. “We are grateful for the trust that our institutional investors have placed in us during this time of greater uncertainty and a more challenging capital raising environment.”

“We are extremely thankful for the support we received from institutional investors in Fund I and remain highly focused on executing our strategy to identify and capitalize on consistent, high quality investment opportunities in this and future funds. We are excited about the potential growth and value creation opportunities presented by Fund I’s existing portfolio companies and our robust pipeline of potential new investments,” added Dave Tayeh, Head of Private Equity, North America.

“We are delighted for our North American PE team reaching this important milestone and look forward to continuing our long history of forging strong partnerships with our investors and delivering quality investment opportunities as our capital base continues to grow and diversify,” said Laura Coquis, Global Head of Institutional Capital Raising.

Investcorp’s North America Private Equity group has been investing in North American mid-market businesses for over 40 years and has completed approximately 70 transactions, deploying more than $22 billion in transaction value since inception.

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IK Partners to invest in Responda Group

IK Partners

IK Partners (“IK”) is pleased to announce that the IK Small Cap III Fund has signed an agreement to invest in Responda Group (“the Group”), a leading provider of business process outsourcing (“BPO”) services to small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”) in Sweden. IK is investing from its dedicated pool of Development Capital and is acquiring its stake from the founding management team who will be reinvesting alongside IK. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, Responda AB was founded in 2008 by Joakim Ögren and Magnus Johannessen and later became Responda Group as a result of the acquisition of Kalix Tele24 in 2021. Both companies have an established track record in the industry and its core offering is centred around managing organisations’ customer service through an omnichannel approach consisting of phone, email, online chat and social media.

The Group has 250 employees who are spread across four offices and serve a diversified customer base of approximately 2,500 companies within the private and public sectors. Under the existing management team, the Group has gone from strength to strength and with the support of IK, it hopes to: further broaden its offering for existing customers; continue gaining market share in the SME segment through an enhanced go-to-market strategy; and drive consolidation in the market via strategic add-ons.

Joakim Ögren, Co-Founder and CEO of Responda Group, said: “We strongly feel that a partnership between Responda Group and IK Partners will help us further develop and achieve growth through the pursuit of a successful M&A strategy. Since inception, we have made considerable progress in our field and are proud to have become an industry-leading service provider trusted by highly successful companies in Sweden. We look forward to working with the team at IK and are excited to see where this partnership will take us.”

Carl Jakobsson, Director at IK Partners and Advisor to the IK Small Cap III Fund, said: “Responda Group is Sweden’s market leader in the inbound contact centre services market for SMEs and has great potential for future growth. We are well-positioned to help Responda Group deliver a targeted buy-and-build strategy and to use our extensive network in the Nordic region to support any future geographic expansion. We have been impressed by the Group’s journey to date and look forward to working with the team at Responda Group to help them realise their ambitions.”
Completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals.

About IK Partners
IK Partners (“IK”) is a European private equity firm focused on investments in the Benelux, DACH, France, Nordics and the UK. Since 1989, IK has raised more than €14 billion of capital and invested in over 170 European companies. IK supports companies with strong underlying potential, partnering with management teams and investors to create robust, well-positioned businesses with excellent long-term prospects. For more information, visit www.ikpartners.com

About Responda Group
Founded in 2008 in Stockholm, Responda Group is a provider of customer service for Swedish companies. Its range of services includes everything from temporary telephone fitting to overall responsibility for switchboard and customer service. Its services are fully adapted to the customer’s needs and allows the customer to focus on their core business and be confident in the knowledge that the company is represented in an exemplary way. High quality and customer-friendly partnerships are central to the strategy of the business. https://respondagroup.se/

For further questions, please contact:
IK Partners
Vidya Verlkumar Phone: +44 (0) 7787 558 193 vidya.verlkumar@ikpartners.com

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PhonePe raises growth funds at a $12 billion valuation, led by General Atlantic

General Atlantic
  • Funding is expected to enable next wave of growth for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and build digital financial services for Indians at scale
  • Announcement follows PhonePe’s recent separation from Flipkart and change of domicile to India

Bengaluru, India and New York, NY – January 19, 2023 – PhonePe, one of India’s largest fintech platforms, today announced it has raised $350 million in funding from General Atlantic, a leading global growth equity firm, at a pre-money valuation of $12 billion. Marquee Global and Indian investors are also participating in the round. The investment marks the first tranche of an up to $1 billion total fundraise that commenced in January 2023. The fundraise follows PhonePe’s recently announced change of domicile to India and full separation from Flipkart.

PhonePe plans to deploy the new funds to make significant investments in infrastructure, including the development of data centers and help build financial services offerings at scale in the country. The company also plans to invest in new businesses, including Insurance, Wealth Management, and Lending. The fundraise is expected to support PhonePe as it seeks to turbo-charge the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India, including UPI lite and Credit on UPI to enable greater financial inclusion for Indians.

Founded in December 2015, PhonePe has become a home-grown success story, with the company’s significant expansion powered by India’s emerging digital ecosystem. By building products and offerings tailored for the Indian market, PhonePe today has over 400 million registered users, meaning that more than one in four Indians are on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized over 35 million offline merchants spread across Tier 2, 3, and 4 cities and beyond, covering 99% of pin codes in the country.

“I would like to thank General Atlantic and all our existing and new investors for the trust they have placed in us. PhonePe is proud to help lead India’s country-wide digitization efforts and believes that this powerful public-private collaboration has made the Indian digital ecosystem a global exemplar. We are an Indian company, built by Indians, and our latest fundraise will help us further accelerate the Government of India’s vision of digital financial inclusion for all,” said Sameer Nigam, Founder and CEO at PhonePe. “We look forward to delivering the next phase of our growth by investing in new business verticals like Insurance, Wealth Management and Lending, while also facilitating the next wave of growth for UPI payments in India.’’

“Sameer, Rahul and the PhonePe management team have pursued a clear mission to drive payments digitalization and significantly broaden access to financial tools for the people of India. They remain focused on driving adoption of inclusive products developed on the open API based ‘India stack.’ This vision is aligned with General Atlantic’s longstanding commitment to backing high-growth businesses focused on inclusion and empowerment,” said Shantanu Rastogi, Managing Director and Head of India at General Atlantic. “We are excited to partner with the PhonePe team to help enable the next generation of digital innovation in India.”

PhonePe also recently announced a full separation from the Flipkart Group. After a partial separation from Flipkart in December 2020, a number of Flipkart shareholders, led by Walmart, acquired shares in the recent separation. This move will allow both companies to chart their own growth paths, build their businesses independently, and help unlock and maximize enterprise value for shareholders of the two companies.

About PhonePe

PhonePe was founded in December 2015, and has emerged as India’s largest payments app, enabling digital inclusion for consumers and merchants alike. With 43.5 crore (435+ Million) registered users, one in four Indians are now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitized ~3.5 crore (~35 Million) offline merchants spread across Tier 2,3,4 and beyond, covering 99% pin codes in the country. PhonePe is also the leader in Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS), processing over 45% of the transactions on the BBPS platform. PhonePe forayed into financial services in 2017, providing users with safe and convenient investing options on its platform. Since then, the company has introduced several Mutual Funds and Insurance products that offer every Indian an equal opportunity to unlock the flow of money and access to services. PhonePe was recently recognized as the Most Trusted Brand for Digital Payments as per the Brand Trust Report 2022 by Trust Research Advisory (TRA).

About General Atlantic

General Atlantic is a leading global growth equity firm with more than four decades of experience providing capital and strategic support for over 445 growth companies throughout its history. Established in 1980 to partner with visionary entrepreneurs and deliver lasting impact, the firm combines a collaborative global approach, sector specific expertise, a long-term investment horizon and a deep understanding of growth drivers to partner with great entrepreneurs and management teams to scale innovative businesses around the world. General Atlantic currently has over $73 billion in assets under management inclusive of all products as of September 30, 2022, and more than 215 investment professionals based in New York, Amsterdam, Beijing, Hong Kong, Jakarta, London, Mexico City, Miami, Mumbai, Munich, Palo Alto, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, Stamford and Tel Aviv. For more information on General Atlantic, please visit the website: www.generalatlantic.com.

 

Media Contacts

Priya Patankar
PhonePe +91 9886675772 priya.patankar@phonepe.com

Emily Japlon & Gurion Kastenberg
General Atlantic media@generalatlantic.com

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DIF Capital Partners signs acquisition of largest UK co-location solar and battery portfolio from Cero Generation and Enso Energy

DIF

DIF Capital Partners is pleased to announce that, together with ib vogt, it has signed the acquisition of a 100% interest in a greenfield portfolio of ready-to-build co-located solar and battery projects from Enso Green Holdings Limited (EGHL). This is a joint venture between Cero Generation and Enso Energy. DIF’s investment is being done through its DIF Infrastructure VII fund, which will acquire a 90% interest.

The UK-based portfolio has been developed by EGHL and is understood to be the largest co-location portfolio of solar and (battery) storage in the UK, consisting of seven sites with a total capacity of 720MW (380MW of solar and 340MW of battery storage). Solar EPC and O&M services will be provided by ib vogt.

The acquisition of each project will be completed once each site reaches the ready-to-build stage. The first two projects have already been acquired and have started construction; the expectation is that all projects are acquired by mid-2023 and that they are operational between 2024 and 2026. All individual sites are expected to benefit from CfD contracts or PPAs with corporate or utility offtakers.

DIF and ib vogt are currently in the process of raising a non-recourse debt financing facility to fund the construction of the portfolio.

Gijs Voskuyl, partner and Head of Infrastructure at DIF Capital Partners, said: “This transaction perfectly fits in DIF’s build to core strategy and will make a significant contribution to the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero by 2050. It represents DIF’s first direct investment into the asset class of utility scale energy storage, which is an essential component of future electricity markets. DIF is continuing to work closely with Enso Energy and Cero Generation to bring the remaining assets in the portfolio to ready-to-build stage and is excited to make this investment in a partnership with ib vogt”.

Commenting on the transaction, Marta Martínez Queimadelos, CEO of Cero Generation, said: “We are delighted that DIF and ib vogt will be taking forward this sizeable portfolio into the next phase of its lifecycle. They will be continuing our work with Enso Energy following the development of the projects from conception through planning, and successfully to ready-to-build. This portfolio will make a significant contribution to the UK’s efforts to achieve net zero by 2050, with the co-location of solar and battery storage playing a key role in the de-carbonisation of the grid. We will continue to develop and deliver the UK solar and battery projects in the joint venture’s existing pipeline, which extends to 5GW, and a further 5GW of early-stage opportunities.”

Andrew King, Managing Director of Enso, commented: “The sale of these ready-to-build assets is the culmination of a lot of hard work by the Enso and Cero teams, and we look forward to seeing the DIF/ib vogt team take them forward to construction and operation. This transaction provides further evidence that co-located solar and battery storage projects connecting directly to the transmission network are attractive to funders and investors and will play an important role in the delivery of the UK’s net zero plans”.

DIF was advised by Elgar Middleton, Lazard and CMS. EGHL was supported by PKF and TLT through the transaction.

 

About DIF Capital Partners

DIF Capital Partners is an independent infrastructure fund manager, with more than EUR 15 billion of AUM. DIF was founded in 2005 and has built a leading position in managing mid-market investments, primarily in Europe, North America and Australia.

DIF follows two strategies: its traditional DIF funds invest in lower risk mid-sized infrastructure projects and companies in the energy transition (incl. renewables) and utilities sector, as well as PPPs and concessions. The firm’s CIF funds invest in small to mid-sized companies that will thrive in the new economy. These companies are typically active in the digital, energy transition and sustainable transportation sector.

With a team of over 210 professionals in 11 offices, DIF Capital Partners offers a unique market approach combining global presence with the benefits of strong local networks and investment capabilities. DIF is located in Amsterdam (Schiphol), Frankfurt, Helsinki, London, Luxembourg, Madrid, New York, Paris, Santiago, Sydney and Toronto.

For more information, please visit www.dif.eu.

About Cero Generation

Cero Generation is a leading renewables platform working across Europe to support the transition to a net-zero future, for this and every generation.

Active throughout the project lifecycle, from development through to construction and operations, Cero’s highly experienced team brings world-class industrial, commercial and technical expertise to its projects.

Cero’s 11GW development portfolio is one of the largest in Europe, covering utility-scale solar as well as integrated energy storage solutions. Cero works closely with local development partners and suppliers to deliver high-quality, high-performing assets.

Cero is an independent portfolio company of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), operating on a stand-alone basis.

About Enso Energy

Enso Energy is one of the UK’s most experienced renewable energy developers, focused on developing renewable energy sites that drive the transition to net zero.

Enso’s team of experts have a deep understanding of the energy industry and how to meet the requirements of a fast-moving sector. With a background in large scale renewable energy, the team have delivered over 1.2GW of renewable energy and storage projects since 2019.

Enso Energy believes that it is only with the support of the people most affected by renewable energy development that we can keep the lights on. That is why Enso’s expert team is honest, considerate and diligent with an ambition to use the latest solar technology to make a positive impact on the country and the communities it works in.

To find out more visit: https://www.ensoenergy.co.uk/

 

Contacts:

DIF: Diederik Heinink, d.heinink@dif.eu

Cero / Enso: cero@standagency.com

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Advent International invests in LBS Group, a leading pest control operation and hygiene solutions provider in Greater China

Shanghai, 23 February 2023 – Advent International (“Advent”), one of the world’s largest and most experienced private equity investors, today announced that it has invested in LBS Group (“LBS”), a leading pest control operation (PCO) and hygiene solutions provider in Greater China.

LBS Group offers a wide range of pest control and hygiene management products and services in Asia. It has grown its offering since it was established in 1998 to include integrated pest control management, hygiene services, Sani-Mist germicidal treatment and grease remedial services for global F&B customers, retailers, offices, hotels, and industrial and household customers. The company is a major player in the PCO industry and operates in more than 30 cities across Greater China and southeast Asia.

The PCO market in China is expected to see rapid growth at a mid-teen CAGR over the next five years thanks to increasingly stringent hygiene standards and pest control requirements as well as improving food safety regulations. Advent’s investment in LBS Group will support the company’s continuing growth initiatives and its leading position in China’s PCO industry.

Irene Liu, Principal of Advent, commented, “Riding on China’s steadily increasing urbanization rate and improved hygiene standards, we believe the PCO sector has strong growth prospects. We are impressed by LBS’ superior service quality and very pleased to partner with its experienced and highly motivated team. We plan to contribute our global resources and relevant industry expertise to support the business.”

Franco Lam, Chairman of LBS Group, said, “I am excited to work with Advent during our next stage of growth in Greater China. I believe we will be great partners and LBS Group will continue to deliver excellent customer services.”

Andrew Li, Managing Director, Head of Greater China of Advent, said, “This deal reflects Advent’s continued commitment to invest in the Greater China region and our confidence in building successful businesses with the support of our global network. LBS has a strong track record in providing pest control and hygiene solutions and quality services to customers. We look forward to helping it grow and expand its footprint in the region.”

Advent has made multiple investments across Greater China, including Wagas Group, a major lifestyle F&B group in China; AI Dream, China’s leading branded sleep solution provider and the largest player in the country’s premium mattress market; BioDuro, a global life sciences contract research and development organization with major operations in Shanghai, Beijing and San Diego; and GS capsule, the largest domestic capsule provider in China.

About LBS Group

Founded in 1998, LBS Group is a pest control and hygiene solutions company with complementary services such as digital IoT pest monitoring, air purification and desludging services. As Greater China’s leading pest control company, LBS meets the needs of a wide range of customers in Greater China and the broader region and is the go-to vendor for many of its business partners in Food Services, Retail, Hospitality, Manufacturing and other end markets. Central to LBS’ culture and philosophy is the importance of caring about people. The concept of “planting the seed and the fruit will follow” is a core value embraced by every LBS employee. Respect, collaboration, helping others to succeed and community service before self-advancement has empowered the LBS team to strive for sustainable growth and build a bright future together.

 

About Advent International

Founded in 1984, Advent International is one of the largest and most experienced global private equity investors. The firm has invested in over 405 private equity investments across 42 countries, and as of September 30, 2022, had $89 billion in assets under management. With 15 offices in 12 countries, Advent has established a globally integrated team of over 290 private equity investment professionals across North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on investments in five core sectors, including business and financial services; health care; industrial; retail, consumer and leisure; and technology. For over 35 years, Advent has been dedicated to international investing and remains committed to partnering with management teams to deliver sustained revenue and earnings growth for its portfolio companies.

For more information, please visit
www.adventinternational.com and follow Advent on LinkedIn.

 

Media contacts

FTI Consulting
Izzie Shen (Shanghai)
Tel: +86 21 2315 1068
izzie.shen@fticonsulting.com

Jenna Qian (Hong Kong)
Tel: +852 9839 0019
jena.qian@fticonsulting.com

 

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